The Towel
by angelofdarkness78
Summary: Max has an urge to steal a towel. Which belongs to a certain X5 we all know... MA
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel, its characters, or any of its affiliates. They belong to James Cameron. Yadayadayada…

A/N: This is just a short story I thought of late at night. Hope you like it. Drop me a review to let me know what you think.

* * *

It had been a week since the incident. Since then, Max had been on edge, her shoulders tensing every time he came near her. Nothing happened though. Not at work, or at Crash, or anywhere else she had run into him. She was finally starting to let the relief sink in, thinking that he hadn't noticed anything amiss.

Max shut her locker and almost jumped 5 feet into the air when she suddenly noticed Alec standing next to her. He gave her a strange look at her reaction, and then shrugged it off.

"What do you want?" she asked, figuring that her usual hostile approach would be in order.

"You've been avoiding me." A statement, not a question.

She put on the appropriate denial look, raising her eyebrows high. "No, I haven't. What are you talking about, pretty boy?"

"You've been acting weird all week. What gives?"

"None of your business, Alec," she replied.

"Are you okay?"

The concern in his voice made her look up, and she was surprised to see the obvious worry in his face. Worry for _her_. She felt a strange warmth flow to her heart, realizing that he genuinely cared about her. She smiled at him, a real smile, not a fake one she had plastered on.

"Nothing's wrong with me Alec. I'm fine." He relaxed a bit, noting the sincerity in her voice.

"I still don't get why you haven't been talking to me then," he said.

"I've been busy," she answered evasively. _Yeah, just stealing some of your stuff_.

A week before, she had dropped by Alec's apartment to see if he was up for a little B&E. It was a two man job, and she had little alternatives for a partner. And if she was being honest with herself, she felt more comfortable knowing that it was _him_ who was watching her back. She had walked in, and it was immediately obvious that he wasn't there. She had started to leave, when she saw it.

A light blue towel, hanging from the handle of the bathroom door. Something inside her possessed her to move closer, and take it in her hands. Of its own volition, her mind started to go places she never wanted to admit she thought about. _Alec uses this when he gets out of the shower. _For some reason, she pressed the towel against her nose, and inhaled the scent that was a mixture of laundry detergent and something that was so unmistakably Alec.

She had a weird urge. Crazy even. It was insane, but she really wanted to take it with her.

So she did.

And the next day, she realized with horror what she had done. She had _stolen Alec's towel_. It was ridiculous. It was preposterous. Yet somehow, she liked having it.

She lived in fear of Alec finding out that she had taken it. She was afraid of the questions he would ask, and of the mocking he would do. But mostly, she was afraid of the question, _why?_

Because she wasn't sure she could ever admit it. She would rather go on a date with White first.

"Well, if you're sure you're okay," Alec said, starting to push off from her locker.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She paused for a beat. "Thanks."

"Anytime." He walked away, and then stopped a moment. "Hey Max?"

"Yeah?" she said absently.

"It's the weirdest thing. I can't seem to find my favorite towel. You wouldn't happen to know what happened to it, would you?"

Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked at him. She caught his look. There was a twinkle in his eyes.

He _knew_.

* * *

A/N: Well, there you have it. Hope you liked it. Drop me a review; let me know what you thought. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Dark Angel and all recognizable characters, etc, do not belong to me.

A/N: Well, you guys asked for a continuation, so here's a second part. I had a lot of fun writing it. The last part will be posted in a little while. I just want to tease you guys for a bit with the ending of this one.

* * *

She couldn't deal with it. _He knew_ for God's sake, but he never mentioned it again. Not once, and although it should have made her feel better, it only served to make her more agitated. She couldn't figure out why he wasn't busting her on the fact that she had stolen his towel, and the waiting was driving her insane. She had to do something about it. _She had to_. There was no way she could relax until this was over.

She had to return it.

It was the only solution, but not one that appealed to her. For some reason she dared not name, she had trouble letting go of the towel. She… liked having it. Maybe because it was a part of him that she could hang onto. And having it clutched in her fingers like a special blanket before she went to sleep always made her feel safe. As if somehow, he was there with her.

She had no other choice but to return it. Unless…

Unless she returned another towel in its place. Surely there were hundreds of blue towels out there. All she had to do was buy one and put it back in the other one's place. She didn't think that Alec would be so attached to it that he would be able to tell the difference. A mischievous grin made its way onto her face. That was what she was going to do.

_Smart thinking Max, _she praised herself. She didn't, of course, delve into the true reason for the swap. Because then that would be admitting that she harbored some sort of feelings for Alec, and that would never happen.

She would return it that very night. It had already been four days since Alec's light reference to the towel, and she couldn't take another day seeing his knowing smile, his laughing eyes. She had to put an end to all of this.

* * *

Max crept quietly down the hall to Alec's suite, and upon reaching the door, lightly put her ear against it to listen for noises. She was sure that Alec was out because she had seen him enter Crash with Sketchy just 15 minutes before, but it was habitual for her to make sure the coast was clear. Finally, she took out a paperclip, fiddled with the lock for a couple seconds, and silently opened the door.

The room looked much as it had before on her previous visit. Some empty cans of beer sat on the kitchen counter, with some of Alec's sweatshirts thrown in a pile on the floor. She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling reassured that no one was there.

_Now, where should I hide it? _She couldn't very well just place the towel back on the door; she wanted to make it look like he'd simply misplaced it for a couple of days.

_His bedroom_, she thought. What better place than to shove it under the bed, making him think that after he had dried off, he had accidentally kicked it under there. It was definitely plausible.

She moved towards his room, remarking with surprise the neatness of it. She hadn't pegged Alec as the type of guy to fold his clothes, but she figured the structure that Manticore had instilled in them had encouraged the habit.

Taking the towel out from her bag, she chucked it under the bed, making sure that a part of it was visible so that he would eventually find it. When she was done, she closed the door to his room softly behind her. She had a wild grin on her face. She had accomplished it. It was over.

The grin froze on her face as the door to the apartment swung open and Alec walked in, spotting her in the middle of his living room. He smirked.

"Hello, Max. Nice to see you here."

_Shit_.

* * *

A/N: Haha, I'm evil. I'll post the last bit in a little while. I just wanted to torment you guys for a teensy bit. Please review and give me some feedback.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

A/N: Well, here you have it. The conclusion to this little story. Hope you guys enjoyed it.

* * *

_The grin froze on her face as the door to the apartment swung open and Alec walked in, spotting her in the middle of his living room. He smirked._

"_Hello, Max. Nice to see you here."_

Her heart pounded so loudly she was positive he could hear it. The grin on his face was almost feral; he enjoyed torturing her like this. She opened her mouth but found herself incapable of saying a word.

Alec closed the door and hung his leather jacket on a hook. He strode toward her, the smile on his face growing wider as he noticed her obvious discomfort.

"What are you doing here, Max?" he asked. "Stealing another towel?"

"I never stole your towel," she said hotly. "Don't blame me if you can't put your things away after you use them."

"You know, if you wanted something that I've worn, all you had to do was ask." He was very close to her now, closing the space between them on purpose to unnerve her.

"Yeah right, pretty boy. Like I'd want anything that had to do with you."

He put his hand to his heart, in a mock expression of being wounded. "That hurts, Maxie."

She bristled. "Don't call me, Maxie."

"Or else what?" he taunted. "You'll steal my other favorite towel?"

"Argh!" she yelled in frustration. "I didn't steal your towel!"

"Are you sure?" He closed the distance between them, so that she could easily feel his breath on her face. "Because I really, really liked it."

Was is just her, or did his voice sound lower than usual? She was having trouble concentrating with him so close to her. His lips were less than an inch away, and she could easily reach them if she wanted to.

Her eyes widened and she jerked herself away from him, alarmed at the thoughts she had just had. _I was thinking about kissing Alec. That was wrong. So wrong. It's… it's Alec. Obnoxious, irritating, pain-in-my-ass Alec. _

He shrugged. "Alright, then. What are you doing here?"

Her mind searched frantically for a plausible excuse, and suddenly remembered the reason why she had visited his apartment in the first place the week before.

"I wanted to know if you were up for a little B&E job," she blurted. "A museum in sector four just got in this really rare CD from this old famous pre-pulse singer. Celine Dion, I think? It's apparently the last copy, so it's worth thousands on the fence. It's a two-man job, though. You up for it?"

Alec chuckled. "What happened to only stealing from bad guys Max? Or have you lowered yourself to my level now?"

"Their entrance fee is criminal," she said, impatient to get away.

Alec shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I'm in." He moved into his room, and Max held her breath. Then –

"Hey, guess what I found?" He came out, holding the towel. "It was under the bed."

"Must have chucked it there after you had a shower, huh?" Max said, attempting nonchalance.

"Must have," he agreed. He pulled something off the towel. "Funny thing is, I don't remember leaving the price tag on it." He looked at her intently and she mentally smacked herself.

_A Manticore trained assassin, and I can't remember to do a simple thing like take off the freaking price tag. Lydecker would be so humiliated. _

"Well, you aren't known for your brains, Alec," she replied. "You probably forgot to take it off."

"Hmm. So if I was to go to the store where this was bought, they wouldn't tell me a brunette about say, oh, your height had bought one today?"

She scowled at him. "No."

He sighed, and threw the towel on the couch before approaching her. "Look Max, I don't see why you just can't own up to it. I'm not mad. I'm just curious. Why did you do it?"

She stubbornly continued to deny that she did. "I can't explain what I didn't do, Alec."

Alec seemed to hesitate before what he said next, as if he was afraid of the answer to the question he wanted to ask. Not able to take the silence, Max broke it.

"What?" It came out harsher than she intended, so she repeated more softly, "What?"

"Do you like me?" The question came out soft and unsure. She had never seen Alec look so vulnerable, so much like a little boy. It had taken a lot for him to ask the question, and it looked like the wrong answer could shatter him. "I mean, why else would you steal it?"

She didn't know what to say. She wasn't expecting anything like this. She had thought the drop off would be a quick in and out.

Her silence seemed to answer his question, and his usual cocky mask was put back in place, smirk and all.

"Just wanted to have something of mine while you were thinking all your dirty thoughts about me, huh Maxie?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "I always knew you had something for my ass."

"Shut up." This was familiar ground. As long as he was being like this, she could deal. However she couldn't shake the feeling that she had hurt his feelings. And that, for some reason, tugged at her heart.

"Well, I already told you that I'd do the job, so if you don't mind, I'd like to have a shower," he said, looking pointedly toward the door. "I guess I'll have to use a different towel."

A part of her felt happy that she could leave and get away from all this embarrassment, but another part of her felt bad that she had hurt him. She could see the pain behind his hazel eyes.

_Did I disappoint him when I didn't say I liked him? Alec couldn't be interested in me, could he? No way. It's Alec. He's a tomcat, goes through girls like Kleenex. He can't possibly – He doesn't feel that way…_

Normally, if she had been in this type of situation, she would have run away, just as she had run from all her other problems. But… she didn't want to be like that anymore. She didn't always want to run away.

"Alec," she said. Just his name, nothing else. He must have heard the change in her voice because he stopped and looked at her warily. _Might as well fess up,_ she thought. _This is getting ridiculous. So, it's embarrassing. It's not the end of the world. _She knew that wasn't what bothered her. It wasn't the embarrassment. It was having to explain _why_. That one little word could cause so much trouble. She wasn't sure if she could answer it honestly. Or if she wanted to.

"I stole it. You're right. I stole your towel," she said.

His lips twitched. "Okay. I kind of figured that out."

_Here it comes_, she thought.

"Why?"

She winced. "I – I don't know Alec. I just did." She could see that this answer was not going to satisfy him. "What do you want me to say?" she asked, exasperated.

"The truth, Max." He was very serious now, and very close. "Do you like me, or not?"

"I don't know what I feel for you," she said honestly. She never thought she'd be admitting that, but her mind wasn't functioning properly with him so near.

"Let me help you out then." He said it in a whisper, and it was the only warning she had before his lips came crashing down on hers.

Her arms came up to rest on his chest, clutching the t-shirt he wore as his lips moved against hers. One of his arms circled around her to her lower back, the other tangling in her hair at the back of her neck. She moaned as his tongue brushed up against hers, lightly massaging it. Her heart fluttered, and heat rushed through her body. She had never felt like this before, not even when she was in heat. He was making her feel like fire coursed through her, and she was glad that his arms were around her or else she was sure she would fall down.

She was kissing him back feverishly when his lips broke away from her. She was about to protest when she felt them on her neck, laying hot kisses all over. She moaned again when she felt the pressure increase as he sucked on her shoulders, and her eyes rolled back in pleasure. A second later though, he stopped.

She looked at him quizzically.

"You still didn't answer my question," he said, his breathing a bit labored. She frowned at him.

"If you speak one more time, I will kick your ass," she promised. Alec's face brightened and his lips spread into a Cheshire grin.

"Yes Ma'am," he answered, giving her a mock salute. She rolled her eyes and pulled him down for another kiss.

* * *

It had been two days since both Max and Alec had shown up for work. Normal was becoming concerned – for his Golden boy's welfare, that is. Missy Miss was always disappearing for one thing or another. According to Sketchy, she had been abducted by aliens. He had smacked him and bipped him back to work.

It wasn't like his Golden Boy to not call in when he wasn't coming to work, so Normal decided to pay him a little visit with some chicken noodle soup, in case he was sick. He went to Alec's apartment, found the door open, and put the soup down on the counter. He didn't see anyone in the general area, and he didn't want to check his room just in case his gladiator was sleeping and he woke him up. Resignedly, he turned to leave when he spotted it.

A light blue towel, hanging from the bathroom door. Normal blinked, and then approached it.

_This is Alec's towel_, Normal thought. Surveying the room to make sure no one was in it, he took the towel. Beaming, he inhaled the scent, and happily left with it tucked under his arm.

* * *

Alec woke up, imagining that he had heard the door close. He looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms, one hand splayed across his chest with the other wrapped tightly around him. He never dreamed that he would ever wake up one day with Max in his bed, but he liked the feeling. He watched her sleep for a moment, a rare sight if he ever saw one. The look on her face was peaceful, and as he kissed her forehead, she sighed softly.

The past two days had been the best of his life. He had spent it all with _her_, the woman he had dreamed about for months after leaving Manticore.

_And she hasn't abused me in two days. That's got to be some kind of record_, he thought.

He stroked her bare arm, and then decided that a shower would be in order. He got up and walked to the bathroom, and then froze. A look of incredulity came upon his face.

"Who the hell stole my towel?!"

* * *

A/N: Haha. Well, there you have it folks. A nice little mini story. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Your feedback is always appreciated.


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